


Litore

by eorumverba



Series: puppy au [2]
Category: SHINee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 21:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8549917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eorumverba/pseuds/eorumverba
Summary: Jonghyun doesn’t know when he started liking Taemin; he just knows that some time between meeting baby-faced, mushroom-haired Taemin and watching him grow into a complete fairy prince (okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but not really, because Taemin is beautiful and ethereal and perfect), he’s fallen in love.





	

Jonghyun doesn’t know when he started liking Taemin; he just knows that some time between meeting baby-faced, mushroom-haired Taemin and watching him grow into a complete fairy _prince_ (okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but not really, because Taemin is beautiful and ethereal and _perfect_ ), he’s fallen in love.

Taemin isn’t one for skinship, but he always tolerates (and sometimes even initiates) skinship that is almost too intimate, too _obscene_ , to be done in public. And while Jonghyun _definitely_ does not mind, he’s always the only one that gets yelled at by Kibum for being inappropriate. (See their performance of internet war for the senior year talent show)

So, Jonghyun is in love with Taemin. Painfully, pitifully head over heels in love, and sometimes, when Taemin looks at him like _that_ , Jonghyun almost thinks that Taemin knows. He always brushes his crush off when asked, with a teasing grin and an indirect response that always confuses (statements like “Taemin knows my everything" or “Taemin is an angel, a fairy!”) and Taemin doesn’t help either, just rolls his eyes and smiles indulgently.

Taemin is definitely Jonghyun’s closest friend - they’ve known each other since middle school, and over the years, Jonghyun has learned firsthand that Taemin is not as innocent as he looks. Which is why he’s not surprised at all when the doorbell rings that summer afternoon, and it’s Taemin that’s there, wearing a sunny smile. That look always means trouble.

“I’m kidnapping your son,” he says to Jonghyun’s mom, making sure Jonghyun hears from his position on the living room couch, “I wanted to celebrate us graduating, we never really got to. I’ll have him back by tomorrow, swear.”

Jonghyun bites back a grin as he stands and is promptly dragged out the door by Taemin. Once they get inside of Taemin’s car, Taemin turns to Jonghyun, grinning that familiar grin as he runs a hand through his newly bleached hair.  
“Brought a change of clothes for you, we’re getting stoned.”

Of course. “You’re addicted,” Jonghyun rolls his eyes fondly, ignoring the way Taemin flips him off.

“I’m not, I just wanted to celebrate graduation with my best friend. Who knows when we’ll get to do this again.”

Jonghyun just shrugs, turns on Taemin’s Bluetooth speaker and blasts f(x)’s Dracula.

Taemin groans and Jonghyun turns to him, scandalized. “Taemin-”

“I know, they’re underappreciated and too talented to be so, SM needs to give them more attention, they haven’t even gotten a solo concert or a fan name or color, and it’s been years. I _know_ , Jjong.”

“Good. Besides, Dracula is such a great song.”

“You just love vampires.”

“True,” they’re at a red light, so Jonghyun leans in, grinning, “bite me, Dracula-oppa.”

So he’s not prepared when Taemin pulls him closer, contemplative, before a grin (that fucking sex grin that Kibum taught him) spreads over his lips and he says, “Maybe later.”

And promptly pulls away and begins to drive again.

He’s not even surprised that Taemin did that - they’d do things like that all the time when they were out together, but alone, when there was no reason to tease?

Three parts of Jonghyun’s brain things that Taemin _definitely_ likes him, the other part thinks he’s just being ridiculous, because it’s Taemin. Beautiful, perfect, unattainable Taemin.

It’s quiet for a while other than the radio, Jonghyun plays all of Taemin’s favorite songs just to see that perfect smile slip across his lips, to hear him sing quietly, because he really does love Taemin’s voice, no matter how Taemin refuses to sing for anyone.

They stop for lunch at a McDonald’s, and Jonghyun serenades Taemin with his new (unfinished) song when his phone dies, the one about untold love, time passing, regret - the one he wrote during a night of fitful sleep, the night about a month ago, when Taemin told him Naeun had confessed to him, that he had said yes.

Without the soft backing track (that he’d recorded as well) it’s not as chilling, but Taemin still shivers when Jonghyun finishes. “I got goosebumps, hyung. That was,” Taemin looks thoughtful, “you really put a lot of thought into it.”  
“I did. It’s not finished, I wrote it in one night, but,” Jonghyun shrugs, “I like it. I’m going to call it Diphylleia Grayi.”

“Skeleton flower,” Taemin glances over from the road to Jonghyun, “You remembered.”

“Of course.”

Without even looking, Jonghyun can tell that Taemin is smiling.

When they finally get to the beach, the sun has just started to set, and Jonghyun gets their towels and blankets from the trunk while Taemin rummages around the backseat. When he slams the door shut and turns around, there’s two tubs of brownies in his arms, and pillows.

“One’s full of plain brownies, in case we get hungry. The other,” Taemin grins, “I tried one earlier, they’re good.”

Jonghyun just snorts and pushes past Taemin, and heads to their usual spot. It’s emptier, since it’s just the two of them, and Taemin gives no explanation to why the others aren’t here.

The sun has gone down, and Taemin abruptly turns and pulls out a blanket from the pile they’ve brought and Jonghyun leans over to spread out their pillows and turn on the little lamp they’ve brought. They don’t really get cold, Taemin just likes to be close, and Jonghyun doesn’t mind. Usually, when it’s the five of them, they all sit too close and Jinki will hum whatever song’s been playing on the radio and Jonghyun will play with Taemin’s hair and they’ll all pretend they don’t notice that Minho and Kibum are _this_ close to making out. But now it’s just Jonghyun and Taemin, so Jonghyun is hesitant when Taemin lays in his lap. It’s different when it’s just them, not necessarily more _intimate_ , because they’ve done more than this - it’s just…different.

Taemin doesn’t protest when Jonghyun begins to card his fingers through his hair, just presses his nose into Jonghyun’s stomach and Jonghyun tries not to flinch away when his lips press warm into his skin.

“Stop it, you’re gonna get spit on me.”

Taemin hums, and after a moment, presses an even sloppier kiss to Jonghyun’s stomach. His lips feel like they’re tilted up into a grin, but Jonghyun can’t really tell, doesn’t really care.

“Gross.”

“You like it though,” Taemin rolls over and grins up at Jonghyun and it looks both eerie and childish in the dim light, and yeah, he’s right.

“I _tolerate_ it,”Jonghyun gently tugs on a lock of Taemin’s hair, “just like I’ve tolerated you for the past seven years.”

“Six and nine months,” Taemin corrects.

“Close enough,” Jonghyun shrugs, wrapping the blanket tighter around his shoulders and dangling the edges in Taemin’s face just to see him bat it away.

“Feed me,” Taemin mumbles, and Jonghyun complies, breaking off half of the fudge brownie he just started and holding it just above Taemin’s mouth. Taemin hums in contentment as he chews.

“Sing for me again.”

This time, Jonghyun sings the song he wrote completely about Taemin, the one about how beautiful Taemin is, the one he’s not so ironically titled Pretty Boy. Of course, he doesn’t have the upbeat backing track, so he makes it a soft ballad, and when he’s halfway through, Taemin rolls over and lazily bites at Jonghyun’s stomach.

“Gonna make me fall asleep, stop.”

“You _bit_ me,” Jonghyun tries to sound more shocked than flustered, “that’s gross.”

“I said I would,” Taemin struggles up and suddenly he’s too close, perched in Jonghyun’s lap, hair mussed, eyes sleepy, “remember?”

Taemin’s hands come up to brush the skin of his neck and Jonghyun shudders, watching Taemin wet his lips, bend in close and hesitantly press his lips to the spot just above Jonghyun’s collarbone. When Jonghyun makes no move to stop him, Taemin presses his lips down more firmly. His teeth gently scrape where he’s sucked at, and when Jonghyun brings his hand up to tangle in his hair, Taemin pulls away, grinning.

“Taemin-”

“Dracula-oppa,” Taemin corrects, that maddening grin still on his lips. The lips that were just on Jonghyun’s neck. Fucking.

“I’m gonna punch you.”

Taemin just laughs, knowing the words have no rancor, that Jonghyun is too fucking weak for him. “Okay, hyung. Hey, we should make out.”

It’s usually Kibum he says this too (Kibum always snorts and rolls his eyes, but he always ends up with swollen lips and a hickey or two - whether it’s from Minho or Taemin is irrelevant, the point is that it _happens_ ) so Jonghyun is almost shocked when Taemin asks him. His fingers are brushing through Jonghyun’s hair and he looks just this side of serious.

Kissing Taemin though, that wouldn’t be so bad. His lips are all soft and pretty and Jonghyun kind of really wants to bite them, and he knows Taemin would end up all whimpery and wiggly pretty easily, given how sensitive he is.

Jonghyun kind of really wants to make out with Taemin now.

Instead of answering, Jonghyun slides his hands beneath Taemin’s shirt, rubbing lazy circles against his hipbones. He’s known Taemin long enough to know that Taemin is _very_ sensitive there, that (and just on time) Taemin will shudder and go all limp and wiggly in Jonghyun’s lap.

“Like a noodle,” Jonghyun mumbles as Taemin squirms, “cutie noodle.”

“Not cute,” of course, Taemin is pouting when he says it, so the effect is lost, and Jonghyun grins.

“You know,” Jonghyun leans in and steals a bite of brownie from Taemin’s lips, “I like you?”

“Like you too,” Taemin plays with Jonghyun’s hair, leans over and turns off the flashlight just to be a fuck. Now it’s quiet, dark, just them. Jonghyun can feel Taemin’s familiar weight on his lap, his hands light around his neck, their light breaths between them.

“No, I like you like you. Wanna date you.”

“Oh,” Taemin sounds quiet, serious. Jonghyun’s comfortable buzz leaves with Taemin’s retreat from his lap, “oh, Jjong…”

That’s…probably bad. “What?”

“I’m aro.”

Wait. “What?”

“Like I just don’t like people romantically, but-”

“I know what aro means, Tae. I just,” Jonghyun fumbles around for the flashlight and flicks it on, watches Taemin’s eyes on him for a long moment, “never mind. Can we forget this happened?”

“We should head back. You can stay over-”

“Drop me at Kibum’s?”

Taemin pauses again, looks away. “Right.”

It’s quiet on the ride back; Jonghyun drives and Taemin pretends he’s asleep (Jonghyun’s known him long enough to know what he looks like when he’s asleep) and just when the guilt and regret starts to flood him, Taemin shifts, mumbles, “Stop it. It’s not like we’ll stop being friends because of this. And,” Taemin’s voice grows soft, “it’s not like I hate you. I’d probably, definitely want to date you, if I weren’t…” the last two words ( _like this_ ) hang heavy in the air, and Jonghyun glances between Taemin and the road.

“Don’t say that, Taeminnie. Different doesn’t - mean _wrong_.”

The soft, hesitant smile Taemin sends him means more to Jonghyun than words ever would.

* * *

(And fast forward a few months, and here they are, working the late night shift at the ice cream shop near their college. There’s only two customers and they’re about too close up, and Taemin is fixing them sundaes while Jonghyun takes care of the young couple and their ice cream cones. When they leave, Taemin comes out from the back with their desserts, and they sit opposite each other at one of the tables in the back.

“Chocolate, how’d you know I was in the mood for this?”

Taemin looks up, brushes his hair (freshly dyed lavender) from his eyes and grins wide from around the spoon between his lips. “I know you best, shouldn’t you know that by now?”

“Of course, of course,” Jonghyun slips his phone into his pocket (Kibum has just sent him a text and Jonghyun tries to wipe the fond smile off his face before Taemin sees. He doesn’t.)

“Oh, who’s that?”

“Just Kibum, we’re thinking of moving in together. For-”

“You don’t have to explain yourself,” Taemin says mildly, “just don’t be all ro around me.”

“I don’t - shut up!”Jonghyun mocks throwing his spoon at Taemin and the younger merely laughs.

“Thank you, though,” Taemin begins to absently swirl his spoon around his ice cream, “for, you know. Before.”

“What - oh. I, you’re welcome. I think?”

“Yes, hyung, that’s generally what people say after someone says thank you.”

“You know I do love you, though. Like - I care about you, a lot. And I just-”

“I know, hyung.”

The soft, hesitant smile Taemin sends him means more to Jonghyun than words ever would.


End file.
